Talks are the new gigs

Liz Hoggard
13 Jul 2009

Next week, the coolest conference on the academic circuit begins.

The TED organisation (Technology, Entertainment and Design) runs an invitation-only conference in Oxford every year. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot.

TED was set up in the States as a not-for-profit venture to get wealthy power brokers thinking about projects that can improve the world.

Its debut included one of the first demonstrations of the Macintosh computer. In 2001, TED was acquired by Chris Anderson, the new-media entrepreneur.

Today, the main conference at Monterey, California attracts more than 1,000 people and sells out a year in advance.

Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bono, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and filmmaker JJ Abrams, creator of TV's Lost, have all given presentations, alongside violinists, political prisoners, novelists and brain scientists.

It's been called "an intellectual Mardi Gras" or "Davos for optimists". TED talks are moving, inspiring - and practical. Fun, too.

Bands including They Might Be Giants and jazz pianist Elew have performed there.

In 2005, Anderson launched a sister conference, TEDGlobal, in Oxford.

The speakers for 2009 include comedian Rory Bremner, actor and author Stephen Fry, philosopher Alain de Botton, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and astrophysicist Garik Israelian.

Entry doesn't come cheap at $4,500 (hardly surprising when the TED audience can include Peter Gabriel, Bill Gates and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin), but the great thing is, impoverished types can watch the back-list of TED talks on their website for free.

Go online and you can crunch through a zippy talk on architecture by Daniel Libeskind, or one on how internet pornography is ruining relationships by Cindy Gallop.

We're invited to post our own response and rate talks on a scale from "inspiring" to "obnoxious".

It's like Facebook for smart people. You can even create your own profile with a killer photo (these geeks are highly photogenic).

Brainy programming is addictive and ideas streaming - sharing your deepest thoughts with like-minded people - is the new way to network.

Forget dusty lecturers coughing through three-hour papers. Many of today's presentations have the wit and energy of stand-up comedy. Production values couldn't be higher.

Throughout London, talks are the new gigs. We're flocking to debates at the Louise T Blouin Foundation, Intelligence Squared, the Royal Geographical Society, the Tate and the ICA.

Quarterly magazine Contagious hosts events on new media and advertising. And at the School of Life on Marchmont Street, you can enjoy secular sermons, pilgrimages, talks and courses on love, work and family.

Not only do you get to meet intellectual titans and cross-pollinate ideas, it's also a clever way of checking out a new dating partner (without any of the embarrassment).

TED recommends starting your own session at work, maybe around a topic you're researching. Set aside 30 minutes and invite colleagues for a session of out-of-the-box thinking.

Or why not host a salon at home for friends and family. You can "curate" the conversation to encourage genuine discussion - as opposed to belligerent arguments. You might even learn something.

TedGlobal takes place at venues throughout Oxford, 21-24 July. Places still available, or sign up for the live stream when you become an associate member ($1,000 a year): www.ted.com